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In the 80s and 90s, I lived in a great little garden complex over in Montrose (Houston, Texas) on Burlington Street. There were 32 apartments, all of which overlooked the swimming pool and small courtyard in the middle. It was a great little complex, friendly and close-knit, and for a lot of those years, it was about 80% gay and about 20% straight and whatever. Everybody worked, but because the bars were close, a lot of us went out in groups and often hung out at the pool and had barbeques together.

Unfortunately, during that that time, AIDS started picking off people, almost like a sniper, and one by one, our group got smaller and smaller. Of course, a few people did move to other places. I lived there for fifteen years, and by the time I left. it was about 10% gay and 90% straight. The straight people were cool, the type that you still find in the area, but it just wasn’t the same atmosphere. I finally moved, not because I didn’t like my neighbors, but because there had been a small tornado which came through the neighborhood, and it had torn off part of the roof. The company the owners hired made cheap repairs and my ceiling started leaking. Even though my part of the building hadn’t been damaged by the tornado, the entire roof had been replaced with crappy materials and workmanship.

Anyway, when we used to have our parties and get-togethers, my friend Neil sometimes made this great dessert. He didn’t call it “Sex in a Pan”, but I’ve seen others call it that. I don’t remember him calling it by any special name, but I loved it, and I’ve made it on my own over the years. It’s super easy to make, and you end up with a decadent dessert that everyone will talk about. ^ou make it in steps, so you do need to have a little time, but even then you can watch your favorite TV shows or do laundry at the same time because it doesn’t require a lot of attention. If you are a complete “choco-holic”, you can use the chocolate version of almost all of the ingredients.

Add the final layer of whipped topping; then sprinkle with shaved chocolate and other delights of your choosing!

Refrigerate for a couple of hours for the entire dessert to set. If you want, you can add the final sprinkles of chocolate, cherries, and nuts right before serving. To serve, cut into squares, and gently lift them out with a spatula. This serves 12 if you have guests. It also refrigerates well, so if you have any left over, you can pig out on it later!